Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2020 Podere Castorani MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO Casauria Riserva reveals a deep, brooding ruby color; unfolds with aromas of fresh-picked blackberries and garden spices; medium to full bodied, mouthcoating and succulent on the palate; generous dark berry flavors with a graceful shading of oak; long, smooth finish—an ideal companion to a refined northern Italian plate of brasato al Barolo, where slow-braised beef, infused with aromatic herbs and a luxurious reduction, mirrors the wine’s depth and richness while its structure and polish elevate each savory, tender bite. (Tasted: April 6, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Walnuts, raspberries and sour cherries on the nose. Licorice and some balsamic, too. It’s medium-bodied, juicy and creamy with powdery tannins and tasty spice undertones.
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose presents aromas of black cherry and blackberries, with hints of raspberry and coffee grounds. The fruit is more highly toned on the palate, which features boysenberries and plums alongside more blackberries, before a mocha finish that's structured by chalky tannins.
Montepulciano is the second most planted red variety in Italy after Sangiovese, though it is achieves its highest potential in the region of Abruzzo. Consistently enticing and enjoyable, Montepulciano enjoys great popularity throughout central and southern Italy as well. A tiny bit grows with success in California, Argentina and Australia. Somm Secret—Montepulciano is also the name of a village in Tuscany where, confusingly, they don’t grow the Montepulciano grape at all! Sangiovese shines in yet another Tuscan village, here making the reputable wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
A warm, Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, in Abruzzo, the distance from mountains to seaside is relatively short. The Apenniness, which run through the center of Italy, rise up on its western side while the Adriatic Sea defines its eastern border.
Wine composition tends to two varieties: Abruzzo’s red grape, Montepulciano and its white, Trebbiano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can come in a quaffable, rustic and fruity style that generally drinks best young. It is also capable of making a more serious style, where oak aging tames its purely wild fruit.
Trebbiano in Abruzzo also comes in a couple of varieties. Trebbiano Toscana makes a simple and fruity white. However when meticulously tended, the specific Trebbiano d’Abruzzo-based white wines can be complex and long-lived.
In the region’s efforts to focus on better sites and lower yields, vine acreage has decreased in recent years while quality has increased.